Arachnophonia: Taylor Swift “folklore”

Posted on October 4, 2023 by marmstr3

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Marissa (class of 2025) and features Taylor Swift’s 2020 album folklore. Thanks, Marissa!

Taylor Swift

folklore

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in July 2020, American singer-song writer Taylor Swift released her 8th studio album titled folklore. This album was vastly different from anything she had produced previously, drawing in a new crowd of indie folk fans.

While Swift’s usual songs are written about events that took place in her personal life, folklore takes a different route: each song tells a fictional story with the same cast of characters throughout the album. The tracks “cardigan”, “betty”, and “august” all center around a love triangle between the characters Betty, James, and Augustine. Most of these songs include only Taylor Swift‘s vocals, however the track “exile” features the band Bon Iver as well.

If you are interested in anything Taylor Swift, learning more about this love triangle, or are already a fan of indie folk music, I’d recommend checking out this CD today from Parsons Music Library. You can find the item here: folklore.

Parsons Playlists: I Can Buy Myself Flowers

Posted on April 14, 2023 by marmstr3

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Nicole (class of 2024) and features music by and for independent women.

I Can Buy Myself Flowers

This year has welcomed us with remarkable women in music, stepping up to show how much they are worth and how they don’t need no man! For starters, Miley Cyrus has given a new anthem to all women around the world who have ever been mistreated or underappreciated by their significant other, with her new song “Flowers”. This is a playlist for all the single ladies who have felt the need to roll their eyes at relatives and friends asking if they received any flowers for Valentine’s Day. An independent woman can, in fact, buy herself flowers.

Ashe – “Angry Woman”

Beyoncé – “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”

Cyndi Lauper – “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”

Kelly Clarkson – “Since U Been Gone”

MARINA – “How To Be A Heartbreaker”

Metric – “Black Sheep”

Naomi Scott – “She’s So Gone”

Sara Bareilles – “Love Song”

Sir Chloe – “Animal”

Sohodolls – “Bang Bang Bang Bang”

Taylor Swift – “Karma”

Taylor Swift – “Vigilante Shit”

SZA – “Kill Bill”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZewT0z-VMddL01-ronFgaSDd

Parsons Playlists: Pantone “Viva Magenta”

Posted on February 10, 2023 by marmstr3

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features songs inspired by Pantone’s 2023 color of the year.

Viva Magenta

It’s a new year which means that Pantone, a revolutionary color-matching system, has released their color of the year. 2023’s color is Viva Magenta, which is described as a symbol of new strength, bravery, and joy. Pantone Color Institute’s executive director describes Viva Magenta as a color to reconnect us to our spirit and nature. You can find the Viva Magenta phones from Motorola, Spoonflower and Pantone created six different Viva Magenta-themed fabrics. Cariuma, a skate shoe brand, created six different shoe styles that are all Viva Magenta. Here are 12 songs that remind me of Viva Magenta:

Viva Magenta - Pantone Color of the Year 2023

SZA – “Kill Bill”

Taylor Swift – “Vigilante Shit”

Dominic Fike – “She Wants My Money”

Declan McKenna – “Beautiful Faces”

Declan McKenna – “British Bombs”

Cage the Elephant & Beck – “Night Running”

Pearl Jam – “Dance of the Clairvoyants”

Frank Ocean – “Swim Good”

Cold War Kids – “Hang Me Up To Dry”

Hippo Campus – “boys”

Maggie Rogers – “Want Want”

SZA – “Shirt”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSwAwMtTLDwjXclKN2XlaDxiB0kNq1Hl3

Arachnophonia: Taylor Swift “Speak Now”

Posted on December 7, 2022 by marmstr3

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features Taylor Swift’s 2010 album Speak Now. Thanks, Eliana!

Taylor Swift
Speak Now

Taylor Swift - Speak Now

Taylor Swift, one of the biggest artists of the century, has amassed a cult-like following since her self titled debut album. She’s since released 9 additional studio albums and 2 re-recorded albums, all seemingly more successful than the last. Speak Now, her third studio album released in 2010, remains my favorite to date. Let me tell you why.

When determining my personal album rankings, I consider two factors: general cohesiveness and amount of “skips.”

In terms of cohesiveness, Speak Now exceeds expectations. Taylor describes it as a loose concept album regarding the things she never got a chance to tell people throughout her life. She calls the songs diary entries, using them to navigate her newfound adulthood. Speak Now perfectly encapsulates all the emotions of a 20-year-old dealing with love, heartbreak, and regret. Every song tunes into those emotions in a slightly different way, creating a wholly relatable album.

Even more importantly, this is a no-skips album. Each song serves a beautiful purpose in connecting the whole, but also has the ability to stand alone. Of course, this isn’t to say I don’t have favorites. “Back to December“, “Mine“, “Better than Revenge“, and “Last Kiss” certainly top my list. Still, even my least favorite songs on this album are always worth a listen.

You can check out this CD, as well as Swift’s 1989, Fearless, and folklore from Parson’s Music Library.

Parsons Playlists: Inspired by Taylor Swift’s “Midnights”

Posted on October 28, 2022 by marmstr3

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student manager Kiran (class of 2024) and features songs inspired by Taylor Swift’s newest album Midnights.

Inspired by Taylor Swift’s Midnights

This playlist is inspired by Taylor Swift’s latest album. If you liked Midnights, check out these ten songs similar to her latest tracks!

Taylor Swift - Midnights

Doja Cat – “Been Like This”

Harry Styles – “Daylight”

Billie Eilish – “TV”

Taylor Swift – “Cornelia Street”

Arcade Fire – “My Body Is A Cage”

Dua Lipa – “Boys Will Be Boys”

Coco & Clair Clair – “Pretty”

Lana Del Ray – “13 Beaches”

Born At Midnite – “Hawt Heart”

Troy Sivan – “Easy”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZewUUyWFhQfDSJDIm3st-Y7q

Parsons Playlists: “The Turn of the Seasons”

Posted on October 14, 2022 by marmstr3

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Marissa (class of 2025) songs celebrating the transition from summer to fall.

The Turn of the Seasons

This playlist starts out with that feeling of missing the warm weather and the ease of summer. As the songs go on, the listener feels more accepting of the new season, and is eventually overwhelmed by the excitement of leaves falling and sweater weather.

Taylor Swift – “august”

WILLIS – “I Think I Like When It Rains”

The Beatles – “Yesterday”

Taylor Swift – “right where you left me”

Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried – “Slipping Through My Fingers”

Ed Sheeran – “The A Team”

Harry Styles – “As It Was”

Wabie – “Love Me Tomorrow”

Green Day – “Wake Me Up When September Ends”

Post Malone – “Circles”

Ritt Momney – “Put Your Records On”

Coldplay – “Yellow”

Declan McKenna – “Brazil”

Earth Wind & Fire – “September”

Here is a link to the whole playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn_0zPAfyo8&list=PLEPpzeK8v3s2_m0TioXsHNJ_80uYGSfCl

Parsons Playlists: “Very Peri”

Posted on September 30, 2022 by marmstr3

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Amy (class of 2025) and features a playlist inspired by Pantone’s 2022 color of the year.

Very Peri Playlist

Songs that I associate with Pantone’s color of the year for 2022, Very Peri!

Very Peri - Pantone Color of the Year 2022